Christmas in Colorado

We had a rockin time this Christmas.  On the 21st, we headed out the Colorado with a schlew of family to the ranch! My hubby's family came from South Africa to celebrate winter and a white Christmas (a first for most of them). It was such a wonderful time! Despite us all getting sick while we were there, we managed to buck up and have fun.  

Henry built his very own Gingerbread house!

Devils Thumb Ranch, Gingerbread House

 Pearl Street Mall in Boulder

Baby outing in her hot pink Patagonia bunting!

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care.
*note the milk and cookies

Christmas morning!  

Baby girl made it to the presents!

Winter wonderland - Sky Valley Ranch

Christmas Dinner

Silly times with cousin Laurel

Departing the ranch.  See you in the summer!

One week down!

MY KINDERGARTNER!

Yes, Henry is in Kindergarten!  Last Monday, the 27th was a very big day. 

The night before we read, The Night Before Kindergarten ( a very cute book btw).

He was giddy with excitement! He kept telling me, I'm going to Kindergarten tomorrow, Mommy! After his bedtime routine, bath, book, crackers, teethbrushing and a quick spine rub (aka back rub), Henry quickly fell asleep (and to my surprise)!

He woke early (6:30 am) and couldn't believe that this was the DAY!  He quickly dressed and was eating breakfast by 7 am, well slightly, it was more like a few bites...he was so excited and probably quite nervous about his big day, that he didn't have an appetite!  He had his backpack with his lunch box secured in place (it clips onto the pack) by 7:30 am.  He literally danced about the house with his pack on waiting for 8 am, when we could leave for the bus stop....you see, he didn't want to MISS the bus.  We opened the front door to leave the house about 8 am after having peeked out our front windows to see if our two neighbors, also kindergartners, who live across the street were out front. The kids dashed out and into the street (we have a quiet street), screaming with excitement about their new adventure..kindergarten and going on the BUS. The parents said our good mornings with coffees in hand. Up the street a mere half block is our stop, luckily we were some of the first to arrive at the stop...Henry was screaming, "We can't miss the bus!"  

We all anticipated the arrival of the bus.  Henry shook with excitement!  At about 15 past 8 the big yellow bus came around the bend.  The kids screamed, "the bus, it's here!"  We gave our kisses and hugs goodbye.

The bus stopped, the kids started grabbing for their friends hands as they approached the bus.  Henry took Quinn's hand.  They had agreed to sit with each other and were going to stay together and help one another out...to get to their classroom and all.  Henry stepped up onto the first step of the bus and as he did this, my anticipation of this whole experience now multiplied..and then my heart dropped!  Oh my, my little baby is now off to Elementary school!  He's really a big boy.  

Back to School!

WHAT? School is back in session !!!!  What happened to the summer, August?  Uh, and what about September?  Henry is quite the happy camper to be back at school and quite proud of his Spanish speaking capabilities (go Communikids).  This mama is proud!

But what about summer?  It was so full, so crazy, so fun and a lot of work.  My hubby worked extra hard at getting his business up and running, which to date, I am delighted to say is coasting along nicely. :) Go love!  I took most of the month of August off from teaching Pilates to be with Henry for some fun time (we took trips, had mom camp and all).  Henry tried new things at his various summer camps.  He took Tae Kwon Do, learned a little about acting, music and dance and fine tuned his swimming skills!  I've got a fish on my hands!  All in all our summer was super fun, filled with adventures.  Here's a quick peek:

Visit to Wisp in Western Maryland

Crazy jumps into the pool!

Hen took 2 weeks of Tae Kwon Do camp!  Loved it! We'll be back next year.

Henry and I had a mom and kid getaway in Martha's Vineyard. We went to visit one of my very good friends MT and her two boys.  We had such a fun time.  MT's whole family was there and it was a full house of fun.  The photos taken are by Amy Bennett who is an incredibly talented photographer and friend who lives in Cabo San Lucas. We all had a blast!  Thank you again Amy for taking these amazing photos of us.

Silly Faces!

How old? My birthday celebration!

Part 3: Hawaii

Despite the very fact my trip ended 12 days ago, I'm still dreaming about Hawaii. Revisiting my pictures brings back the memory of time spent with my mom and sister and all the fun we had. Looking forward to doing more of these types of adventures with them (although must include hubby and my brother and his wife next go around)!

Nonni, Henry and Norah

Tikki Torches!

Nonni indulged the children with cupcakes!

Back from the pool.

Sister Sarah and Nonni (my mom) poolside.

Mauna Kea





Peak near the top of Mauna Kea.


My sister and I decided we would spend some time together on our own
adventure. We opted to go on a tour to the top of Mauna Kea. This is a beautiful dormant volcano.
It is 13,792 ft from above sea level, however, the locals boast that it is the worlds largest mountain in the world when you measure it from the oceanic base it measures 33,000 ft/10,000 meters! Yikers! Here's a little info about how it compares to Mount Everest
Any who, we decided to do the sunset and stargazing tour. They provide a catered dinner and hot chocolate and (yummy) cookies. The trip began at 3:30 pm in the afternoon and we drove up to the visitor center. It was probably about 5 pm by the time we arrived. This visitor center was at about 10,000 ft. So we climbed altitude quite quickly. We stayed at the center for about an hour or so to acclimate and to have our dinner and walk the perimeter. There were some interesting fauna there.


This plant is an indigenous to Hawaii, but unfortunately it is dying out.
They have put fencing around them all over Mauna Kea to protect them from wild animals.





A burial. For many many years (even thousands of years), Mauna Kea has been considered a
sacred mountain. Many people would come to the mountain to bury their dead or disperse ashes.




We all got back on our well equipped van that had special 4 wheel drive and off road suspension, it was pretty kitted out (think I may be sounding too much like my husband), to handle the dirt roads. It was pretty rough riding those dirt roads, kind of like a wash board. At times I just had to let my voice ungulate with the vibration, kind of what you do as a kid. It was quite hilarious, until the woman in front of my sister and I announced to the van that the right was like a vibrator!?!*
Ok then at that point our very talkative guide turned awfully quiet. Sarah and I just laughed!
We stopped again to get our to take picture and acclimate once again. It was getting freezing out there.


Freezing at this point. Just a quick pic before we get back in the van to the top!

Our guide prepared us for the fact it would be below freezing at the top. The tour company provides HUGE down coats with hoods and mittens.




On top of the World! Kind of felt like the Michelin man in this get up!

The sunset was beautiful! Here you can see a handful of observatories.

There are 9 observatories on top of Mauna Kea.

We had such a fabulous time on that sister adventure!

I'm ending this post with a picture of my gate at the airport. This is what it looks like right before you get on your plane. SO fantasy island. How I loved it!
Look forward to returning to Hawaii one day again soon.
Mahalo!

Queuing at the gate to get on the plane!